Now that we’ve taken a look at the most popular Decks from YCS Charlotte, let’s take a look at trends in some of the most popular individual cards!

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Pot of Duality

Pot of Duality saw a resurgence of popularity in Charlotte, with 34% of the Duelists using at least 1 copy of it in their Main Decks. Almost half of those used the maximum 3 copies. This is a drastic rise from the 22% of the Duelists that ran Pot of Duality at YCS Dallas, the final YCS of the previous format. The decline in popularity of Six Samurais between YCS Dallas and YCS Charlotte most likely explains some of this, since Six Samurai Decks usually skip using Pot of Duality. But with so many other Duelists using Pot of Duality in their Decks, it’s important to realize that a lot of your opponents can dig through their Decks for the cards they need very quickly.

FUN FACT: The competitors at YCS Charlotte used a combined total of 831 copies of Pot of Duality in their Main Decks. (That’s a lot of Pots, but there were even more copies of Solemn Warning, with a total of 1308 copies in Duelists’ Main Decks!)

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Mystical Space Typhoon

The number of Duelists using Mystical Space Typhoon in their Decks has risen once again, with 85% of the field playing at least 1 copy, and 75% of the field using the maximum 2 copies. A total of 1692 copies of Mystical Space Typhoon were used in Duelists’ Main Decks in Charlotte. In Dallas, only 75% of the field used any copies of Mystical Space Typhoon at all!

Duelists predicted a strong showing from Samurai and Gravekeepers. So Mystical Space Typhoon was a valuable card because of its ability to take down the Field & Continuous Spell Cards that those Decks depend on. It’s also really versatile against anything else, like your opponent’s Trap Cards, no matter what Deck they’re playing. This card paid off for the 25 of the Top 32 Duelists who made the final cut with Mystical Space Typhoon in their Main Decks.

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Giant Trunade

Giant Trunade was also a popular card in Charlotte, used by more than half of the competitors. With Cold Wave and Heavy Storm Forbidden, Giant Trunade is one of the last remaining cards that can provide a temporary solution to all of your opponent’s Spell and Trap Cards, allowing you to make big plays in 1 turn despite what your opponent has.

Be cautious of Giant Trunade when you’re Dueling, because a lot of opponents will be trying to use it against you! A saved Effect Veiler or an on-field Thunder King Rai-Oh can be a strong line of defense when your opponent uses Giant Trunade, since these can stop your opponent from making a big Special Summon or using a key monster effect.

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Thunder King Rai-Oh

Speaking of which, Thunder King Rai-Oh was also a popular card in Charlotte, included in the Main Decks of nearly 14% of the competitors. Because it stops Deck searching, Rai-Oh can be a winning card against several Decks, preventing the use of key cards like Pot of Duality, Reinforcement of the Army, Shien’s Smoke Signal, Dragon Ravine, Sangan, Gravekeeper’s Commandant, Gravekeeper’s Recruiter, and XX-Saber Darksoul.

Rai-Oh can also negate the Summon of big monsters like Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En and Dark Armed Dragon, which makes it a strong defense if your opponent is shooting for some big plays. If your Deck is vulnerable to Rai-Oh, make sure you have at least a few ways to take it down.

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YCS Anaheim is just getting started, and with YCS Charlotte behind us, new individual card trends are sure to emerge. Follow the action to see how the new field of competitive Decks develops!